CBDT wants interest to piggyback tax refund
The income-tax department has instructed all its field formations to ensure that interest on refunds was paid along with the refund.
By Deepshikha Sikarwar, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Here's goods news for tax payers who have to run from pillar to post to get their refunds and interest on it. The income-tax department has instructed all its field formations to ensure that interest on refunds was paid along with the refund.
“Care should be taken to ensure that any interest payable under Section 244A on the amount of refund due should be granted simultaneously with the grant of refund and there should, in no case, be any omission or delay in the grant of such interest.
Failure to do so will be viewed adversely and the officer concerned will be held personally accountable, inviting appropriate action,” Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a communique to field formations.
The board has asked senior officers to carry out periodic test checks of cases within their jurisdiction to ensure that the provisions of Section 244A are scrupulously implemented.
“This is good news for the tax payers who have to run around to first get their refunds and thereafter to get the interest thereon. The controller & auditor-general report has also made a note on the significant amount of interest the government pays on account of delayed refunds.
Speedier refunds will not only be a great service to the tax payer, they will also reduce the outgo from government coffers... a win-win situation for both,” Ernst & Young partner Amitabh Singh said.
The board’s instruction follows a Supreme Court judgement in the case of Sandvik Asia where the court had adversely commented on the delay in grant of interest on refund and awarded compensation to the assessee for the delay by the department.
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